Yiwarrunj, yinyman, radbiyi lda mali: Iwaidja and Other Endangered Languages of the Cobourg Peninsula (Australia) in their Cultural Context

Contributor:

Bruce

Contributor (consultant):

Tim

Coverage:

Australia

Date:

2004-10-21

Description:

Demonstration of how to get the the juicy, fleshy heart of a fan palm [livistona humilis] which is eaten raw.

This project documents, in as full a cultural context as is possible, the Iwaidja language of the Cobourg Peninsula, Northern Territory, Australia (Iwaidjan language family, non-Pama-Nyungan), still spoken by around 200 people but under increasing threat from English, as well as recording material from other languages of the region (Marrgu, Ilgar/ Garig, Amurdak and Manangkari) which are all reduced to one or two speakers each. In addition to linguists, the research team will include specialists in ethnomusicology, material culture / archaeology, and social anthropology, and will result in a comprehensive, searchable and browsable sound and video documentation, with Iwaidja transcriptions and subtitles alongside English translations, an Iwaidja dictionary of around 5,000 words, detailed phonetic analysis, and briefer materials on other languages of the area.